The new collaboration, which ERCOT announced on March 26, is part of its ongoing efforts to examine emerging technologies to address electricity demand challenges.
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The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has begun a collaboration with The University of Texas at Austin to study fast-growing technologies used in solar, wind, and battery storage systems.
The new collaboration, which ERCOT announced on March 26, is part of its ongoing efforts to examine emerging technologies to address electricity demand challenges.
According to information provided by the grid operator, inverter-based technologies used by solar, wind and battery storage systems generate electricity as Direct Current (DC) — the same type of power stored in a household battery. However, this DC power must be converted to Alternating Current (AC) before it can flow into the grid. This conversion is handled automatically by an electronic device called an inverter.
“As these technologies become an increasingly larger part of the grid, understanding their impact is critical to maintaining reliable power for Texas homes and businesses,” ERCOT stated in a release.
UT will help ERCOT anticipate challenges related to simulation platforms, control interactions, and power quality issues that may come with very high penetrations of inverter-based resources on the grid, according to ERCOT. “Given the complexity and rapid development of this technology, this collaboration will help us look into the future, anticipate challenges, and identify solutions while we still have some time to prepare,” said Prashant Kansal, ERCOT Director of Grid Transformation.
Meanwhile, UT researchers will build computer simulations and models of inverter-based resources interconnected with the grid to test reliability in a range of potential real-world scenarios. “Inverter-based resources are emerging rapidly and are very promising. However, their controllers introduce new behavior in grids and must be carefully coordinated,” said Professor Brian Johnson of UT’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The new initiative is part of the Grid Research, Innovation, and Transformation (GRIT) program, which ERCOT launched in December. Visit the GRIT webpages to learn more.